BORIS Johnson has warned that Ukrainians are being killed and maimed because of the failure to let Kyiv fire British missiles into Russian territory.
The former PM said there is “no conceivable case” for delay in signing off the use of our storm shadow missile system.
AlamyBoris Johnson and Volodym Zelensky in Ukraine[/caption]
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden failed to come to an agreement on the use of the long-range weapons during White House talks on Friday night.
In a blistering attack on the dither and delay, Bojo said: “It is heartbreaking to visit wounded veterans in recovery centres – as I have in Kyiv this weekend – where Ukrainian heroes are being treated for the injuries they have suffered in the past few months.
“And to think that some of these causalities could have been avoided if we had given Storm Shadow permissions earlier.”
He added: “There is no conceivable case for delay.
“The only person who fears escalation is Vladimir Putin and every day that goes by is a lost opportunity to save lives and bring about a just conclusion to this war.”
Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also heaped pressure on the UK and US to let Ukraine use the missiles.
He told the BBC: “All of that delay, all of that tug of war favours Russia and allows Putin to insert threats and new red lines and efforts to divide and rule in the international community,”
Volodymyr Zelensky has begged the West to let him use the missiles so he can hit back at Russia in what is expected to be a long, hard winter of fighting.
In a furious Twitter post, he warned that dither and delay only emboldens Moscow’s war machine.
Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing StreetPrime Minister Keir Starmer meets US President Joe Biden for talks at the White House[/caption]
He posted: “It’s difficult to repeatedly hear, “We are working on this,” while Putin continues to burn down our cities and villages.
“He doesn’t need anyone’s approval. Putin interprets delays in helping us and in making strong decisions for Ukraine as permission to do whatever he wants.”
But Putin warned that Russia would be “at war” with NATO countries – including the UK and US – if Ukraine is allowed to use the long-range missiles.
Speaking after his White House talks, Sir Keir said: “We had a wide-ranging discussion about strategy in Ukraine, of course, in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
“This wasn’t a meeting about a particular capability. That wasn’t why we got our heads down today.”
He will continue his diplomatic blitz to persuade world leaders to let Ukraine use Storm Shadow missiles at the UN later this month.